The Champion
by Wuschelkopf
Summary: Laura Temerone comes from a long-line of Hufflepuffs. Throughout history the Temerones have contributed greatly to the House of Hufflepuff and now it's Laura's turn. Follow her as she starts her first year at Hogwarts and watch as our clumsy heroine struggles with the welcome and unwelcome surprises of being a witch.


Exhausted I lean my head against the window, watching as the green fields fly by. In the distance I can make out the castle, looking as impressive as my brothers have always told me. Suppressing a yawn I grab my bag and take out the robes.

After putting them on, I can't keep from pulling down the sleeves every few seconds. They once belonged to my older brother Marten who had his growth spurt only during his third year at Hogwarts. Looking at my reflection in the window I start to regret declining my mother's offer of buying me new robes. The decision of saving as much money as possible for my own broom seems to bite me in the butt right at the beginning. Maybe I'll ask Marten to lengthen the sleeves with magic for me. He'll want my signed miniature broom for it. Sighing I sit back down and close my eyes. The soft sounds of the moving train are the only noises that fill my compartment.

Surprisingly nobody has asked me if it was okay to sit in it as well. I've always imagined my life at Hogwarts to start with meeting someone my age on the train, befriending them and having an epic friendship for the rest of my life with them.

I admit I've always been a great fan of the Golden Trio. As a young child I asked for their adventures to be told as bedtime stories. When I was old enough I read all the books I could find about them. There's a big poster of Harry, Ron and Hermione right above my bed. When I was nine years old I spent six hours in the cold just to get it signed.

I take a handful of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans to lessen my disappointment of being alone in this huge compartment. Maybe my friends are just waiting for me in my new house.

Images of me being surrounded with giggling girls in yellow robes float through my mind. Running through the halls to make it to class in time, talking all night and discovering secret passages together with fellow Hufflepuffs, just like my mom always did when she attended Hogwarts, is what I've dreamed of all my life.

Wearing the Hufflepuff robes with pride and helping to win the House Cup is what counts for a true Temerone. Every member of the Temerone family has been sorted to Hufflepuff and has contributed greatly to it. According to legends, my ancestor Lydia Temerone was Helga Hufflepuff's best friend and confidante, standing by her side during every battle and adventure.

The slowing of the train brings life into the corridor outside my compartment and my heart starts to beat a little bit faster.

My anticipation grows as I grab my trunk and bag. It suddenly seems to take hours for the train to arrive at the station, but when it stops I need a lot of self-control to not start running to the boats. Even knowing that I probably look like a dork with the big grin I'm sporting, I keep on smiling like an idiot. I only need to give in the urge to hum and I'll be one of the losers before the school year even starts.

I share my boat with two boys and a girl. They've already bonded during the train ride and are discussing the new keeper of Puddlemere United, Austin Winters. Even though I'm a giant Quidditch fan I keep quiet. Partly it's the sudden shyness I always get when meeting new people that nobody else in my family seem to suffer from, but mostly it's because Puddlemere United is the reason my favourite team, the Stonewall Stormers, had to disband five months ago. It all started with a friendly game that led to a huge scandal and in the end the Stormers were slaughtered by the Daily Prophet. I'm still not over it and will probably never forgive Puddlemere United for what they've done.

While I tune out the excited chatter of my boat mates, I take in the impressiveness that is the Hogwarts castle. Everything else seems to pale in comparison. Even though I've seen pictures and paintings of it, in real life it's thousand times greater.

We're waiting in front of the doors that lead into the Great Hall and I'm not the only one that seems to be barely able to contain the excitement. Next to me a red-haired girl with two pig-tails is praying to her ancestors to make sure she gets placed into Gryffindor. Inspired by her I send a little prayer to Lydia Temerone myself.

Finally the tall man with the spiky blond hair, who has welcomed us when we arrived with the boats, returns. Shortly after that we're walking between the big tables, towards the front, where the Sorting Hat is sitting innocently on a small wooden chair.

I crane my neck, searching for my older brothers at the Hufflepuff table and find them right away, waving at me enthusiastically. Their beautiful girlfriends are sitting next to them, giving me encouraging nods. Sadly that doesn't lessen my nervousness. I don't fear being sorted into any other house than Hufflepuff. I know that even though I'm somewhat rude, sometimes lacking in patience and kindness, I'm a Hufflepuff deep down. It's in my blood. One could say it's my destiny.

What I fear, is embarrassing myself in front of the whole student body and the teachers. What if I suddenly trip and fall on my nose. What if I suddenly need to poop or burp? Nobody would ever want to be friends with someone like that.

My loudly beating heart accompanies me throughout the sorting of all the other children. When the man finally arrives at the names starting with T, my palms are sweaty and my breath is coming in short gasps.

"Laura Temerone."

Taking a deep breath I step forward and climb up the stairs. Slowly I turn around and seat myself on the hard chair. At least I haven't done anything embarrassing yet. Over the countless heads of other students I catch Marten's eye. He gives me a silent thumbs-up, taking a little bit of my anxiety away.

That's when I start to hear the Hat talking in my head.

"_What a surprise! There's another Temerone coming to Hogwarts, willing to fight for the house of Hufflepuff. Who would have thought that one day Helga would be the founder with the most champions? Oh, how I wish to see Godric's face now."_

The chuckling of the Hat makes my head shake uncontrollably. I bet it makes me look like one of these stupid dogs that uncool people put in their cars.

"_But what do we have here? It seems like there's a Temerone whose qualities lie elsewhere…"_

The Hat trails off. Slowly it dawns on me.

"Please. Don't put me in another house", I whisper and dig my fingernails in the underside of the chair.

"_But the other houses could help you with your natural qualities and gifts way better than Hufflepuff. Let me be honest. Being in Hufflepuff will never make you truly happy. From what I've seen in your head, you long to be recognized. You don't want to be one among many. No. The need to be recognized is strong in you. You long to be admired. Being a Slytherin is the best way to achieve greatness my dear little Temerone."_

"No", I mouth desperately. "The Slytherins will eat me alive."

"_Being a Slytherin would be a great way to prove yourself. Prove them that you're worthy of leading them. You're definitely clever enough for that."_

"I don't want to be cruel, scheming Slytherin", I murmur.

"_I won't force you, but always keep in mind that there's more to Slytherin than you think. It's time for everyone to leave the prejudices of the past behind._

_But seeming as you're so opposed to being a Slytherin, I could sort you into Gryffindor. Your strong will would be definitely approved of. _

_Or would you rather be a Ravenclaw? It wouldn't be a bad choice, even though there seems to be a great aversion of studying on your side."_

"Just put me in Hufflepuff", I whine.

" _Alright, I've made my decision."_

A small smile spreads on my face. Soon I'll join my brothers at their table.

"_RAVENCLAW!"_

I jump up and raise my arms in victory. "YES! What….No!"


End file.
